INTRO INSTRUMENTAL INQUISITION!
Guitar instrumentals have supplied some of music’s most evocative moments. Jason Sidwell asks top players for their take on this iconic movement. This month he meets Gong's highly innovative guitarist turned solo artist.
GT: What is it about guitar instrumentals that appeals to you?
SH: As I am a guitarist first and foremost, guitar based compositions will always be of interest. If you look at the history of music you will find that a high proportion is in fact instrumental-based rather than featuring a singer. The guitar can be used both for melodic lines and for chordal accompaniment, and so it can be used in a variety of ways to create instrumental compositions and evocative parts.
GT: What can an instrumental provide a listener that a vocal song can't?
SH: The human voice is a primary way of communicating emotion in music, plus the use of words brings an additional dimension of artistic experience. But non-vocal musical instruments can also convey emotion in both a subtle and an emphatic way, with other possibilities of abstract musical expression that are perhaps limited by the more blatant use of vocals. Orchestral symphonies are by definition instrumental and so non-vocal.
GT: Any tendencies that you embrace or avoid?
SH:The only thing I would seek to avoid is blandness or cheesiness. I wouldn’t avoid musical clichés, per se, as sometimes the use of cliché can make a statement in itself. But it has to be done in a cool way. Are there any set rules as to what is cool? Not really, it’s essentially an intuitive thing.
GT: Is a typical song structure always relevant for an instrumental?
SH: It can be relevant for an instrumental, but it most certainly doesn’t have to be like that. Instrumentals are more about themes and motifs than about verses and choruses.
GT: How useful is studying a vocalist's approach for guitar melodies?
SH: Apart from the obvious link between blues vocals and blues guitar I don’t see much value in studying vocal approaches. But I do see value in studying other lead instruments. As a case in point, while I was developing my lead guitar style while still at school I derived great benefit from learning sax phrases played by the great John Coltrane – not his wild free-jazz stuff but specifically his playing on his wonderful arrangement of the classic Hollywood track My Favourite Things.
GT: How do you start writing one; is there a typical approach or inspiration?
SH: I need some kind of a trigger to start me off on a composition. It could be a guitar phrase, a chord, some kind of synth sound, or something I hear purely in my head. This trigger will normally expand into a more detailed musical section in my imagination, which I would then try to physically realise with a musical instrument. And then if all goes well this first part will trigger other
